Winterized

I am searching the Thesaurus for appropriate terms to describe today. Brilliant, shining, rich, magnificent, glorious.....

After two days of snow that dumped almost a foot of fluffy white stuff upon Anchorage, the sun came out for its five hours of glory today. And what a show the day had for us.

Although the temperature hovered near zero almost all day, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and shuttle the crew off to nearby Goose Lake, bordering the University of Alaska Anchorage campus. A popular venue for running, boating, swimming, and moose watching during the summer, the lake also boasts fabulous cross country ski trails and three skating rinks, upon which anyone can take a spin. Owned by the Municipality of Anchorage, and thus maintained by such, the rinks are hot-mopped on a regular basis (a low-budget type of Zamboni ice maintenance thing) so that the ice is smooth and utterly delicious to skate on, especially in such a setting.

Little Bear was eager to ski today, thank goodness, and strapped on the boards with little urging. He followed us around the snowy trees and onto the lake itself, and from there the lure of ice took over. Taking off his skis, he borrowed (well, okay, demanded) a ski pole and slid and stomped around the rink.

Wolf utilized his multi-sport talent and clicked into his skis immediately upon arrival, disappearing into the forest. It is interesting that a kid who struggles with coordination with so many things can be so fluid upon skis or skates, and for that we are thankful. He ditched the ski boots and put on his figure skates for a few spins around the rink while Yukon and I took turns skiing across Goose Lake and along its shoreline.

An interesting side note is the Lake's proximity to the Iditarod trail. One of the best places to watch the first leg of the race is right along the trails near the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Today I finally felt like we are supposed to feel in Alaska, after a staggered winter's start with little snow and crummy weather. We went outside, we got cold, our noses ran, and we were the kind of tired that only comes from breathless activity. Perfect.